BAFTA ANIMATED SHORTS - 4
Mother of Many by Emma Lazenby (2010) (UK) (6m) *
Emma Lazenby had been working as an animator on the children's animated television show Charlie and Lola before directing her BAFTA-winning film about the day in a life of a midwife, who I think is pregnant herself. Despite the unrealistic animation style, the birthing scenes are actually pretty graphic. There is not a great deal of story in this six minute film so I think it must have appealed to the women on the judging panel, or the men trying to be feministic.
A Matter of Loaf and Death by Nick Park (2008) (UK) (30m)
English animator Nick Park has won several BAFTA and Oscars for his fantastic stop-motion animations featuring his famous duo, Wallace & Gromit. In A Matter of Loaf and Death, co-written by Bob Baker, the gadget-loving pair have opened up a bakery and turned their house into a windmill. But there is a mystery to solve. Someone is killing local bakers and, with Wallace falling in love, it's up to Gromit (isn't it always?) to do the detective work.
The Pearce Sisters by Luis Cook (2008) (UK) (9m)
An unnerving black comedy about two old spinsters who live alone on a wet and windy strip of coast, living off the fish they catch and living inside a wooden hut. One day the rescue a handsome, half-drowned fisherman, but their ugliness and the dress in which they robe him cause him make a run for it. A gruesome revelation awaits the viewer in this unsettling animation. It was produced by multi-award winning Aardman Animations, with whom Luis Cook worked. If you like The Pearce Sisters, rate it and share it.
